Red tide on Florida's East Coast: You don't have to go to beach to feel effects | Map link

Find out what seafood is safe to eat and what is not during a red tide bloom. GINNY BEAGAN/TCPALM
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A sign at the entrance to Virginia Forrest Beach in Martin County warns visitors of possible red tide, but you don't have to be on the beach to feel the ill effects of the toxic marine algae.(Photo: TYLER TREADWAY/TCPALM)

Arthur Immerman isn't a beachgoer, but when he walks his dogs outside his home on Hutchinson Island, he feels the effects of red tide just like folks stretched out on the sand or surfing the waves.

"As soon we get outside, it hits me," said Immerman, an 83-year-old retired Navy commander who lives in the Maritimes condominiums in Martin County. "I mean, as soon as I take that first breath, I feel it immediately: a scratchy throat, coughs, a runny nose, watery eyes and a headache."

Immerman and his dogs used to take long, leisurely walks.

"Now I try to get the dogs to make it as quick as possible," he said. "And they're OK with that because they're coughing, too."

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Dead fish continue to wash ashore on closed Indian River County beaches, such as Golden Sands Park, seen Thursday, Oct. 18, 2018, due to red tide.
Xavier Mascareñas and Jeremiah Wilson, Treasure Coast Newspapers

And Immerman said he isn't alone.

"Everyone I've talked to out here on the island says they've had the same symptoms," Immerman said. "If I stay indoors in the air conditioning, I'm fine; but the dogs have to go out, you know?"

The stronger the east wind, the farther inland the airborne toxins can go.

Red tide on Florida's West Coast has been known to affect people 1 to 2 miles inland "when it's a really bad bloom," Harbor Branch Executive Director James Sullivan said Wednesday evening during a lecture on Florida's algae blooms.

The East Coast's red tide bloom is certainly at or near "really bad" proportions.

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Environmental reporter Tyler Treadway answers questions about red tide, including how it got to the Treasure Coast and if residents should worry about its effects on their health.
Maureen Kenyon, maureen.kenyon@tcpalm.com

The effects can be more serious in people with conditions such as asthma or chronic lung disease. The Florida Department of Health recommends those people stay away from areas with active red tide, and those who live in affected areas stay indoors with the air conditioning on.

Even if you don't go to the beach or live near it, you can be affected by red tide.

Watch what you eat

If you're a seafood lover, be careful what you eat from local waters. According to the health department:

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Yellow caution tape blocks one of the entrances to Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 as beaches on North Hutchinson Island, including Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed due to complications from red tide. Indian River County beaches are also closed to swimmers due to red tide conditions. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Dead fish litter the beach at Pepper Park Beach in St. Lucie County on Monday, Oct. 22, 2018 due to complications from red tide. All St. Lucie County beaches, including the Fort Pierce Inlet State Park and Avalon Beach, are closed. St. Lucie County officials continue to collect water samples twice a week from eight different locations on Hutchinson Island, sending them to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for testing. PATRICK DOVE/TCPALM

Those are all short-term, or acute, effects. What about long-term, or chronic, effects?

A toxin in blue-green algae known as microcystin is known to have long-term effects, particularly liver disease, said Adam Schaefer, an epidemiologist and researcher at Harbor Branch who's studying the health of people who live and work near blue-green algae blooms.